The Suns have been plagued by injuries this season, with Durant missing 4 games, Booker missing 7 games, Beal only playing 6 games, the Big Three combined only playing a full game, and the second game Beal played less than five minutes before retiring with an injury, currentlyThe Suns are in 10th place in the West with just 14 wins and 12 losses。But the Trail Blazers are in worse form, suffering a seven-game losing streak and sitting second to last in the West with just 6 wins and 19 losses, and both sides need a win to boost morale.
In the first quarter, Grant hit a three-point shot, Nurkic scored a basket, Durant pulled in from mid-range, Booker stole and counterattacked, and Little made one of two free throws, giving the Suns a 7-3 lead. Ayton made a jumper, Allen caused Ayton to interfere with the ball, Booker made a three-pointer, Grant made a layup, Allen scored another three-pointer, and the Suns led 15-7. Simmons made one of two free throws to break the scoring drought, Nurkic made one of two free throws, Booker countered with a dunk, Nurkic dunked vigorously, and Durant made one of two free throws to give the Suns a 21-8 lead. Henderson scored four points with a burst of free throws, Nurkic made a layup, Booker made both free throws, Reece fired from beyond the three-point line, and Gordon made a three-pointer to give the Suns a 28-15 lead. Henderson played 2+1, Durant threw it into the basket, Eubanks flew to the basket, Grant hit two free throws, Durant scored four points in a row, and the Suns led 36-20 to end the first quarter.
In the second quarter, Thybulle hit a three-pointer, Henderson stepped to the basket, Eubanks hit one of two free throws, Booker made a quick stop to the net, and then flew to the basket to give the Suns a 41-25 lead. Walker scored five points in a row, Booker hit a mid-range shot, Thybulle crossed the Yang in 100 steps outside the three-point line, Walker and Ayton hit two free throws in succession, the Trail Blazers chased it to 37-43, Booker dunked, Simmons hit a mid-range shot, Walker made a rebound, Ayton made a jumper from the free throw line, and the Trail Blazers chased it to 43-45. Nurkic scored on a basket, Goodwin scored two points on a free-throw jump, and Durant flew to the layup to give the Suns another eight-point lead. Simmons hit a free throw, Durant made both free throws, and then broke through a dunk to give the Suns a 55-45 lead. Brogdon hit a three-point shot, Durant hit a 2+1, and then hit a three-point shotThe Suns ended the second quarter with a 61-49 lead.
The second half was abruptly changedAfter Little hit a three-point shot, the Trail Blazers launched a 14-0 offensive surge, and the Trail Blazers chased it to 63-64. Booker helped the Suns stop the bleeding from mid-range, then caused Ayton to foul and hit one of two free throws, Grant made a layup in Europe, and Brogdon hit a three-pointer to give the Trail Blazers a 68-67 lead. Grant scored 2+1, Allen flew to the basket, Grant hit a free throw, Kamara flew to make up for a dunk, Durant strode a meteor layup, and then dunked, and the Suns chased it to 73-74. Grant and Simmons hit back-to-back three-pointers, Eubanks dunked, Ayton hit a hook shot, and Brogdon caused interference, giving the Trail Blazers a nine-point lead at 84-75. Metu dunked, Durant hit a pull-and-hit shot, and then the Golden Rooster scored another goal independently, and the Suns narrowed the gap to three points. Brogdon hit a three-pointer to give the Trail Blazers an 87-81 lead to end the third quarter.
Booker made a layup in the final quarter, Gordon made one of two free throws, the Suns chased only two points, Simmons dunked, Thybulle hit both free throws, Booker broke through to the layup, Simmons sealed his throat with a sword outside the three-point line, Ayton threw a shot, and the Trail Blazers led 96-87. Durant scored on a mid-range shot, Ayton hit a jumper from the free-throw line, and Simmons made a jumper to give the Trail Blazers an 11-point lead. Allen threw a hand, Grant hit a layup, and Brogdon made a three-pointer** to give the Trail Blazers a 105-91 lead. The Suns went on a 13-2 run led by Durant and trailed by three points with 35 seconds left in the game. Simmons hit a jumper to give the Trail Blazers a 109-104 lead, leaving only the Suns at 107 seconds. Durant and Allen missed back-to-back three-pointers, and the Trail Blazers closed in the win.
At the end of the game, Durant scored 40 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals on 16-of-28 shooting, with a team-high plus/minus of +8, Booker scored 26 points, 3 rebounds and 7 assists on 11-of-25 shooting, Allen contributed 11 points and 9 rebounds on 5-of-10 shooting, and the rest of the Suns players did not score double-doubles.
For the Trail Blazers, Simmons scored 23 points, 3 rebounds and 7 assists on 9-of-23 shooting, Grant scored 22 points and 4 assists on 8-of-15 shooting, Ayton scored 16+15 on 6-of-18 shooting from the field, Brogdon was 5-of-10 from the field and 4-of-9 from three-point range to score 14+4+4.
The Suns, who originally wanted to pinch the "soft persimmon", helped the Trail Blazers end a seven-game losing streak, Durant has done his best, but still failed to help the Suns bring back a victory, after the Warriors won three in a row, the two sides are only one win away, Beal still needs to rest for two weeks, the Suns have to think about how to decompress Durant, once Durant falls, the Suns may not even be able to keep the play-off spot.